Yūzō Yamamoto


Yūzō Yamamoto was a Japanese novelist and playwright. His real name was written "山本 勇造" but pronounced the same as his pen name. He was born to a family of kimono makers in Tochigi-city, Tochigi Prefecture.

Biography

He studied German literature at Tokyo Imperial University. After graduating, he gained popularity for his solidly crafted plays, some twenty in all, notably: Professor Tsumura ; The Crown of Life ; Infanticide ; and People Who Agree. In 1926 he turned to novels, known for their clarity of expression and dramatic composition. Later, with the writers Kan Kikuchi and Ryūnosuke Akutagawa he helped to co-found the Japanese Writer’s Association and openly criticized Japan's wartime military government for its censorship policies.
After World War II he joined the debate on Japanese language reform, and from 1947 to 1953 he served in the National Diet as a member of the House of Councillors. He is well known for his opposition to the use of enigmatic expressions in written Japanese and his advocacy for the limited use of furigana. In 1965 he was awarded the prestigious Order of Culture. He died at his summer villa in Yugawara, Kanagawa in 1974.
Yamamoto’s large European-style house in Mitaka, Tokyo, was condemned by Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers with its power of eminent domain during the occupation period from 1945 to 1953. The mansion was then used as an archive and research lab by non-profit organizations for years, until it was converted into the City of Mitaka Yūzō Yamamoto Memorial Museum in 1996. There is also a museum dedicated to him in his hometown of Tochigi-city.

Selected works